AX1296

Setting up master sheets

You may want end users to be able to add sheets to their Axiom files as needed, using designated master sheets as the sheet "templates." This feature provides a controlled way for end users to add sheets, even if workbook protection is enabled for the file.

For example, you may want your department managers to add a CapRequest sheet to their plan file for each capital request that they want to submit as part of their budget. Some departments may have zero CapRequest sheets, other departments may have just one CapRequest sheet, and other departments may have two, three, or more CapRequest sheets. The primary reasons to use master sheets in this example are:

  • You want each request on a dedicated sheet within a plan file, versus using other approaches such as detail rows on a single sheet, or individual plan files for each request.
  • You want each department manager to control whether any of these sheets are added to their plan file, and how many are added.

Master sheets can be used with templates/plan files, reports, and file group utilities. When using master sheets with templates/plan files, the setup should be performed in the template so that the feature is available to all plan files built with that template. Since workbook protection is always applied to plan files, the master sheets feature is the only way that end users can add sheets to plan files.

How master sheets work

The master sheets feature works as follows:

  • Within the file, you create one or more sheets that you intend to designate as master sheets. These sheets should be designed as appropriate for their intended use, including creating calc methods if appropriate (for templates/plan files and file group utilities only). The master sheet can be hidden or visible.

  • You designate the master sheet or sheets using the Master Sheets setting of the Control Sheet. This setting signals to Axiom Software that the "add sheet" feature is enabled for this file—or in the case of a template, enabled for the plan files built from the template.

  • End users can use the Add New Sheet command (in the File Options group of the Axiom tab) to add a new sheet to the file. The user selects a master sheet to copy and defines a name for the new sheet.

  • Axiom Software creates a copy of the selected master sheet and inserts it into the file. The Control Sheet settings of the master sheet are copied to the new sheet, with a few exceptions:

    • The copied sheet is always flagged as visible, even if the master sheet was hidden.
    • The name of the master sheet is placed in the Master Sheet setting for the copied sheet. This associates the copied sheet with the master sheet, and allows the copied sheet to use the same calc method library as the master sheet (if applicable).

    When the sheet is inserted, sheet protection and default views are applied (if configured in the Control Sheet settings). Other "on open" settings are not applied (but will be applied the next time the file is opened).

  • When inserting the first copy of the master sheet, the copied sheet is placed after (to the right of) the master sheet if it is visible. If the master sheet is not visible, the copied sheet is placed after the last visible sheet in the workbook.

    Subsequent copies will be inserted after the most recently inserted copy of the master sheet. This means that copied sheets will be displayed in order and continuous within the workbook (as long as these sheets are not manually moved within the file after insertion). Copied sheets must remain visible in the workbook in order to support this behavior.

The user can now edit the copied sheet as needed and as allowed by the sheet design, including using calc methods.

Limitations of master sheets

The following limitations apply to the master sheets feature:

  • Process Plan Files. It is not possible to run Axiom queries on copied sheets when using Process Plan Files. The list of Axiom queries is generated based on the source templates for the selected plan files, and therefore any queries on copied sheets will not be available for selection because those sheets are only present in the plan files. Selecting the Axiom queries for the master sheet will not cause the corresponding Axiom queries to be run on the copied sheets. The copied sheets will still be calculated during Process Plan Files, and any save-to-database processes on the sheets will be executed (assuming save-to-database is enabled for the process).

  • Print Plan Files. Print Plan Files is not supported for use with copied sheets. The list of sheets to print is generated based on the source templates for the selected plan files, and therefore any copied sheets will not be available for selection because those sheets are only present in the plan files. The copied sheets can still be printed when the user is in the plan file, using the basic Print functionality.
See also